


Chronicles of the White Fang

by PixelyPeach



Category: RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 02:34:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5188859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelyPeach/pseuds/PixelyPeach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption... Someone has to stop it."</p><p>Blake Belladonna's story didn't start at Beacon Academy: it started in a rundown bookshop with only one "family" member to count on. This is her story of her meeting the White Fang and meeting Adam Taurus, the first person to make a major impact in her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dark Alleys

Blake Belladonna walked out of the nightclub and into the frigid air outside, the door closing behind her with a slight slam. She frowned and yanked her scarf up around her face: once again she had been misinformed. That, or Mr. Schnee was a step ahead of her like always. She knew the prodigious man: knew that, after his days or making the faunus slave over his work, he enjoyed a good martini at the bar, as well as talking to Junior about new "associates". Once again she had been too late, meaning Schnee had probably gotten away with more disgusting acts.

She kicked the leaves angrily. Not that Junior was smart enough to know anything: he only did it because he was getting paid. Otherwise she would have went after him beforehand. As the leaves kicked up in the autumn wind, the thought that she was going to be scolded briefly passed through her head.  
Tuckson always worried about her, even though they werent related....he might as well be a father to her. Living there for nearly eight years, it certainly felt so. 

Eight years ago...eight years since Mom and Dad...  
She shook the thoughts out of her head. She was 16 years old now: she couldn't keep dwelling on it. It's not like it made any difference....didn't change that she was an orphan, that she had no other friends besides Tuckson. 

Her ears perked up suddenly, catching three voices in the wind. One female, two males.  
A sense of unease pitted in her stomach....she rounded the corner.

"P-please leave me alone...." A young deer faunus about her age stood with her back pressed against the alleyway. Two human men stood in front of her, leering.  
"Aww, are you sure honey? You shouldn't be out so late walking out by yourself though.." he suddenly noticed Blake watching and glared suspiciously. "Heh? Who're you?"

The other guy sneered at her, winking. "Take it easy buddy...I was in the mood for a lil Pussy anywa-"

He staggered back, choking as her fist flew into his throat at lightning speed.  
She walked past him as he fell down, glaring into the other one's face. "Leave"

"Y-....You bitch! I'll...." he glanced at his friend, sweat beading on his forehead.  
The one she had hit started to get up, coughing violently. He was quickly yanked to his feet, running away awkwardly. "You'll pay for this later!"

Blake watched them run away, hands stuffed in her coat pockets.  
"Uhm..." she turned in surprise, and the girl jumped, flinching. "T-THANK YOU. I...I'm so sorry this happened...it's all my fault..."

Blake blinked, before smiling slightly. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder: "Hey, it's not your fault you encountered some asshole humans out here. Though, you should probably start learning how to protect yourself, alright?"

The girl nodded, face beet red. "Uh, anyways...." her eyes darted about suspiciously. "I should uhm, get going...thank you again!" She spun and started sprinting the opposite way, leaving Blake's hand suspended midair in surprise. "Uhm...okay." She checked her phone after a moment....2am. Tuckson was going to kill her.

 

***

By the time she reached the door to the bookstore she was nearly delirious with exhaustion. Enough that when a book slammed shut she jumped. Tuckson put the book down on the desk, glaring at her.  
"Out late shopping again?"

She avoided his gaze. "I had to run some errands".  
He growled, but it sounded tired. "Dammit Blake...get some sleep, we WILL be talking about this tomorrow".

She nodded distantly. It's not that she didn't feel bad, but the conversation was always the same. She couldn't spend forever holed in this bookshop...not doing anything. When she was younger books had contented her. To a point they still did, hiding away the real world and making things a little more peaceful for her. She still loved those books but...things were different now. Her life wouldn't change if she stayed cooped up in here. She opened the door to the backroom. Tuckson had made it just for her: with the simple bed in front of a large fireplace, bookshelves lining the walls. 

The last thing she remembered was her head hitting the pillow.


	2. Fallout

Blake waved to the customer, smiling as they walked out the door of the bookstore. The bell jingled as it shut and she sighed in relief. "That should be the last of our customers today..."

"You in some hurry to go out "shopping" again?" Tuckson eyed her over the top of the register warily. 

She felt a twinge of guilt for making him worry, but pushed it aside. "Actually yes...I need to make a tea run. I'm out again....I'm serious!" He frowned at her, looking suspicious.  
She really was being sincere: after last night she felt no need to go out looking for trouble. Having spent the rest of the walk home looking over her shoulder..the only thing she wanted was a night of rest at home. "I'll be back around eight, it's just a quick pickup, I promise." 

He sighed, shutting the register and leaning on the counter. "Not like I can actually stop you, though I've tried many times..." his brow furrowed. "Just watch your back, okay? The attacks on faunus have been increasing more recently...especially around our area".

"Yeah..." she bit back the urge to tell him about the faunus she had met last night. "Don't give me that face, I promise I'll be back soon". She embraced him quickly while he grumbled, and ran out the door before she could have second thoughts.

 

****

In the end the trip had been worth it...though it wiped out a good portion of her paycheck. The smell of lavender and lemongrass wafted through the air out of her bag as she stepped out of the warm shop, and she sighed contently. Tonight would be a night of rest for her. No investigations, just a cup of tea in front of the fireplace and her newest romance novel. Despite last night, she found herself smiling as she walked down the pathway. The sun had only went down a few moments ago. Maybe tonight, she could make a cup of tea for Tucks as an apology. He acted tough, but she knew at heart he was just a big softie. Still smiling, she rounded the corner...and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Hey there Kitty Cat." The boy from the night before leered at her, flanked on both sides by people she didn't recognize.

She had about one second to realize her mistake before a strong blow hit the side of her head. Dimly she thought about the tea flying out of her hands as she hit the ground, hard. Blinking, she swiped at the blood on her cheek before crying out in pain as a foot landed a blow in her side. She heard rather than felt a rib crack before she was yanked to her feet, gasping. 

"Filthy animal..." she winced, gagging at the smell of booze in her face. "Don't you EVER think you're better than us humans..." His fingers tightened and she struggled for air. The boy smirked at her menacingly: "I'll teach you a lesson about picking on the wrong people..."

She heard the thud behind him before registering the fact that one of his friends had fallen down.  
Peering through spotted vision she saw...the girl from last night? And someone else with her...she couldn't make out his face.

"These the people you were talking about..?"  
"Yupp, that's them!" the girl winced, rubbing her knuckles. "Ugh, that kinda hurt...his nose is HUGE".  
"And probably broken now."  
She giggled, covering her face. 

"Oh hey, it's the cat girl from last night!" Blake found herself trying to for a response...but honestly she was getting tired. She felt her knees give out and sagged. 

The faunus boy drew...a sword? "We better finish this quickly, then"

Blake's eyes flew open in surprise and the hand holding her released quickly, a cry of pain bursting out from her attacker. She coughing violently as she hit the ground, her vision struggling to return to normal. Yells were sounding out from all around her...everything felt fuzzy...

"Shit! We're losing her!" the yelling had stopped, save that one voice. A face appeared over her, fading in and out.

"Hang in there, okay?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, no more ending it with blacking out/sleeping, I promise! I just needed to get the story started somehow: Expect Adam and more new characters in the next chapter! ;P


	3. New Faces

"....be up soon, she's been out for awhile"  
Blake blinked wearily, her vision coming back to her slowly. She registered a warm feeling in her chest and glanced down: two hands were pressed down on her, and a slight light was radiating from them. 

"Oh, you're awake! I'm so glad." Blake looked up from the hands to the person smiling down at her. The woman seemed a bit older than her, but not quite aged. She removed her hands and brushed her white blonde hair out of her face. "And you're just about healed up too...I'm glad it didn't take too long..."

"You're a human." The words escaped her mouth and she immediately regretted them, flushing. The woman however only smiled, and closed her eyes.  
Wings unfurled from her back, pure white and silent.  
Blake's mouth opened in surprise. "Am...Am I dead?"

The woman pressed a hand to her mouth, laughing. "No! Ahaha...no. You are very much alive. And I am Mira." She gently rushed back Blake's bangs before standing up and brushing off her skirt. "You should call Atticus in: he's been wanting to see her."

A thought dawned suddenly upon Blake, and she jolted into sitting position. "OH MY GOD!" The room went silent. "Tuckson is going to KILL me!"

"Who, this guy?" a male voice beside her inquired. She turned and saw a fox faunus sitting next to her, lazily dangling her phone between his thumb and index finger. "We called him to tell whats going on....he doesn't seem very reassured though..."  
She took the phone, letting out a sound of despair at the ten missed calls and twenty unread texts. 

She looked back at Mira and the fox faunus, as well as...the deer faunus? The girl waved cheerily to her.  
"Uhm..." Blake ran a hand thought her hair. "I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed...do you mind if I call him really quickly...?"

"Of course dear. I'll take Vester and Olive with me....though I'm sure everyone out there is eager to meet you". Blake nodded and the three left the room, shutting the door quietly. She dialed in Tuckson's number quickly, bracing herself for the storm. He picked up on the first ring.

"I swear if this isn't Blake I'm going to come there and..."  
"TUCKSON! It's me, relax...I'm fine"  
"Blake? What the hell is going on?!? Where are you and who are these people..?!"  
She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm...not quite sure myself...but. They're good people, so far as I know. Tuckson...."  
She exhaled, suddenly shaky. "I think they saved my life".

There was a long pause at the end of the line before a half growl (or sigh?) came from the other end.  
"You'll be home soon, right?"  
"Of course....though I think I owe them a thank you"  
"Tch....don't waste time."  
"Understood, sir."  
"Ugh....always causing me so much trouble" the words were exasperated. "I'll see you soon kiddo."  
"See ya".

****

She looked at her phone screen for a moment after, before stuffing it in her coat pocket. She walked towards the doorway and reached for the doorknob, hesitating before opening it. What if this was all a trick as well....? She had been stupid taking the same route home, and she hadn't even been able to defend herself. She didn't know any of these people and they had somehow gotten her to a location she knew nothing about while she was unconscious.  
Well, they wouldn't have kept her alive to this point if they were bad, would they?  
She steadied herself and opened the door.

The room, which had been filled with talk when she opened it, silenced almost immediately.  
"Cat girl!" the deer faunus ran up to her and Blake stiffened. "Actually...it's Blake..."  
"Oh...HI BLAKE! I'm Olive...which I guess you already knew". Olive grinned sheepishly. "Oh but you haven't met everyone else yet!" She grabbed lake's hand and dragged her towards the others (much to her dismay and panic). 

"This is Mira, you met her. And Vester the Fox...that's the guy that took your phone! Over there are Carmine and Albert"  
The lioness and chameleon faunus waved and nodded respectively to her. "Gray is the porcupine one over there "

"And there's Adam, sulking in the corner! He helped save you, along with me of course, hehe"  
"I am not sulking..." Adam grumbled. Blake internally noted the red flush on his face. 

"Olive, did you call on Atticus yet?" Mira interjected.  
"Ah yeah, he should be here any minute now..."

"I am here...sorry for the wait.." a deep voice boomed from the other side of the room. Blake turned and her eyes widened in fear. 

The man had to stand at least 7 feet tall. His eyes were a piercing orange: they scanned the room as if taking in everything...and yet seeing nothing. The thought that he might be blind dawned on her, and was confirmed when his cane swept out across the front of him. Mira quickly walked to his side, beaming. 

"Ah, so she is here". He looked over directly at her and began walking forward. She swallowed the lump in her throat: clearly he was the leader of the group. He stopped in front of her and tilted his head, before smiling benevolently. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, young lady. Your friend Olive has told me all about you."

She glanced at Olive, who grinned at her, before looking back to him.  
"Young lady...do you know who we are?"  
She shook her head before flushing in embarrassment "N-no...sorry..I can't say I do..."

"I am Atticus. And you are standing in front of the beginning's of..." he swept his arm out graciously:

"The White Fang".


	4. The White Fang

She looked around at the people surrounding her, expectantly watching. "The...White Fang?"  
Gray rolled his eyes and snorted, Olive shooting him a dirty look. "Don't you know...we're kinda like, the Justice League or something!"  
"...?"

Carmine stepped forward suddenly, smiling slyly. "You know those scumbags that attacked Olive and you? Who do you think takes care of them?" She tilted her head, before continuing: "Certainly not the police: as far as they're concerned, it's not blood on their hands"

"We prefer not to resort to violence though: tonight was an exception" Atticus interrupted, narrowing his eyes.  
She lifted her chin defiantly, brown feline eyes slanting.  
"Prefer not to...but you know it can't always be avoided." She turned back to Blake, smirking. "That's why they have me, Gray and Adam over there as the tanks of the group!"

Blake nodded slowly, taking it in. She looked over to the others: "What jobs do they have then..?"  
"Albert is the brains of the group" Albert pushed up his glasses higher, trying to hide a satisfied look.

"And Olive is /supposed/ to gather information to bring back to Albert, but she ran into trouble last night...fortunately you were there....or not, depending on your opinion".  
She winked at Blake. Olive flushed, staring at the ground. "Blake...."

The others turned to her. "I'm....I really am sorry that this happened". Her eyes teared up. "If I hadn't been stupid...you wouldn't be in this mess.."  
"Olive..." Blake reached out hesitantly.  
"We should be learning to fight" Gray stated, eyeing Atticus. 

"ENOUGH of that talk" Atticus slammed his cane on the ground defiantly and Gray's mouth thinned out. "You know that's not what we're about and I certainly won't be turning it into that!"

"Uhm..." Blake started, and the eyes were back on her again. She continued: "If you don't fight them, what do you do, exactly?"

Mari smiled gently at her. "We protest. As peacefully as possible. One day they'll learn, along with everyone else..." she paused a moment "that violence only brings us down to their level".  
"I see...." Blake stared at the ground, fists clenched. Carmine looked over at her tilting her head thoughtfully. 

Mari walked up to her, placing a hand on her arm. "Join us Blake"  
"...W-what..?"  
"Make a difference. It's only a thought". She smiled a bit sadly. "I can understand why you wouldn't want to, after these past two nights. But I can guarantee everyone in this room is willing to protect you. We all protect each other."

She looked at Mari's intense stare and back down at the floor. "Could...could you let me think about it? I have people I care about at home and..."  
"Of course dear. In fact..." she pulled out a card and handed it to her. "That's my number, if you need it...I'm hoping". She smiled, and Blake looked at the expectant faces around her. "I'm hoping we can see your face around here soon...in the meantime...don't you have someone waiting for you at home?"

"Ah! Crap I forgot for a bit...I better get going..." She began buttoning up her jacket self conciously.  
Mari smiled thoughtfully "Of course, I'll be sending Adam to escort you home"

"H-huh!?" The redhead turned suddenly, jaw dropping. "Mira, I mean....this late..I..."  
"That's exactly why you're escorting her: I'm counting on you." She smiled sweetly.

"I...ugh, alright, let me grab my coat.." he walked away grumbling.

"I should be fine, really" Blake stumbled, looking as he walked out. "I don't want to be any more trouble than I already was.."  
Mira shook her head. "You're no trouble at all, in fact this might be good for him"  
Blake nodded, walking up slowly to Atticus. "Uhm...thank you...for everything. I probably wouldn't be here right now otherwise."  
"Probably not" he chuckled darkly. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I really do hope you can join us Blake".

"Alright, let's get going." Adam breezed past her and opened the door, walking out.  
Blake turned and gave a last smile to the others before rushing out after him.

****

Adam was a fast walker...or perhaps he just didn't feel like wasting his time with her. She pushed the second thought out of her head, pulling her scarf over her nose.  
She had called Tuckson again to tell him she was heading home...he still didn't seem happy but at least now her phone wasn't going off every five minutes. 

She spared a sideglance at her walking partner. He had to be at least a foot taller than her. His amber eyes were focused directly in front of him, deep in thought. Looking now she noticed horns sticked out beneath ruffled red hair....a bull faunus.

"This is it, right?" He stopped suddenly, snapping her out of her reverie.  
"Oh...yeah it is.." she offered up a nervous smile. "Thank you so much for walking me back"

He paused before turning to her slowly, sighing. "You should learn how to fight".  
"Fight...? But didn't Atticus say.."  
"If it weren't for us," he interrupted, a bit forcefully:

"You would be dead where you stand".

She stared wide eyed at him.  
"If you can't fight, don't bother coming back" he spat out.  
"...I..."  
He turned away from her, beginning to walk away. "You'll just become another casualty".

She watched him walking away stiffly. Tears burned in her eyes, but she couldn't tell if they were from anger or shame. She pushed the door open, and looked over to Tuckson, who had fallen asleep on the couch. She smiled weakly, walking over and draping a blanket over him. He woke up suddenly with a snort:  
"We're having a talk tomorrow Blake". His words were slurred in exhaustion.

She nodded and smiled sadly, patting his shoulder and heading off to her room. Shutting the door quietly behind her, she sat on her bed and reached into her coat pocket, pulling out the card Mari had handed her. "White Fang: Marching Foward!" the card read. A phone number was scribbled in turquoise ink beside it. 

"You'd be dead where you stand".

She clenched the card, gritting her teeth. She couldn't keep letting childhood memories scare her away from everything.  
She would prove him wrong though. That was one thing she'd make sure of.  
She pulled out her phone.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!"


	5. House on the Culdesac

"Where do you think you're going?" Blake winced, feeling Tuckson eyeing her carefully. She turned to him slowly, letting go of the door handle. 

"Out to meet some friends?" she cracked a slight smile. "I know it seems unbelievable but I am trying to make some".  
"Which is perfectly fine, however....we still haven't talked yet." He placed a book back up on the shelf. "I'll walk with you, to meet these new friends."

She felt a protest rising up but pushed it down, sighing. After the past two nights she knew Tuckson deserved some answers.  
She had stayed up half the night feeling guilty over making him worry. Even if he wasn't a parent by blood, he was in every way that counted. "Alright then" She tossed him his coat, which he caught deftly. "Better bundle up".

***

She spent of the walk trying to explain things to him low key, in a way that he wouldn't freak out. She told him about confronting Olive the first night and being attacked the second night. The she told him about being rescued and how her rib, which had been broken just that night, had been healed only a few hours later. She left out the part about the White Fang however, as even still that part frightened her a little. 

He listened with very few interruptions, though his expression darkened significantly as she explained the attacks.  
When she finished, his brow was furrowed in worry, his gaze distant.  
"Blake, I'm not sure these are the type of people you should be around....even if they did help you."

She looked away, uncomfortable. A small part of her, one she didn't want to admit to, was lonely. And for that one night, being surrounded by faces, whether smiling or at least attentive, was comforting. Maybe this was a place she would finally be able to fit into, besides hiding out in the back of a quiet bookstore.

"Either way....it's a little too late to go back now. We're here."  
They both looked up simultaneously at the structure before them.

Structure because....house was too small of a word to describe it. A manor stood before them...spacious and extravagant in size. And yet, it still seemed to hold a quaint charm to it, with it's warm butter yellow siding.   
A cobblestone path led up to the main doors framed on either side by deep red rosebushes. They blew gently in the slight autumn breeze, expelling a sweet scent as Blake walked up the path, Tuckson frozen behind her.   
"This feels wrong...."

She ignored his fear and walked up the steps slowly, enchanted by her surroundings. A door knocker was in front of her, a rose symbol carved into the luxurious oaken door.  
She hesitated only for a moment before grabbing it and swinging it down with a loud bang.

There was a pause and silence, interrupted only by a soft windchime hanging off to the side. Suddenly, she heard footsteps running and the door was swung open.   
Olive's face beamed in front of her. "SHE'S BACK! Hi Blake! Oh and...you brought a friend?" She waved over Blake's shoulder and Blake watched Tuckson wave back stiffly, his brows now furrowed in confusion.

"Come on in!" she smiled again, grabbing Blake's hand and pulling her inside. She only shut the door once Tuckson had followed them in.  
"Atticus! She's back!"

"Atticus..." Tuckson froze, eyes widening. 

The older man rounded the corner with his cane, stopping in front of them and smiling.

"It's been a long time, my dear friend.."


	6. Old Company

Tuckson narrowed his eyes at the other man, who only smiled in return.  
"Go off with your friends Blake...I need to have a chat with Atticus."  
"O-okay..." Blake walked off with Olive, looking over her shoulder. He felt the icy glare of Mari on him and ignored her.

"Shall we have some tea then? Your dear, er, daughter, left it here the other night. From meeting her she seems like a benevolent spirit...I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing?"  
Atticus walked him to the kitchen, Mari trailing behind him. "Please, have a seat".

Tuckson pulled out one of the four chairs at the small wooden table and sat, eyeing Atticus carefully. Mari hummed as she put the kettle on, drawing out the teabags. Atticus cleared his throat, and Tuckson started:

"I see your "sight" is as clear as always then?"

He chuckled, waving a hand to the side. "Well, it has to be...since my physical sight doesn't...but you know that. Otherwise I'd be running into walls left and right". He chuckled again and Mari sighed in exasperation behind him.

"So..." Tuckson's hands balled into fists. "You knew this was coming. You knew that Blake was coming here, that she would be /attacked/...and you allowed it..."

Atticus's smile faded slightly. "She would have made her way here, one way or another....you know that as well as I do, Tuckson. She takes after her mother in that way..."  
"Her mother, who died because you failed to act like always?"

The tea kettle slammed and Mari spun angrily. "You have no RIGHT..."

"No, it's fine Mari..." Atticus steeped his fingers, his eyes filling with grief. "I wont deny my share of blame for losing her...and I as I have said many times before..I truly am sorry."  
"Sorry doesn't bring her back."  
"No, I suppose it doesn't..." he drew in a deep breath before looking back up at Tuckson. "However, I'd like to at least make amends somehow."  
"Absolutely not!" Tuckson stood up suddenly, hands braced on the table. He snarled: "I don't want her ending up /dead/ like the rest of your friends..."

"Listen to me Tuckson....Do you know what I see about Blake? I see her sitting in her room at night, miserable and alone. I know, without you telling me, that last night was the first time in years she has felt excited about meeting new people. And you would keep her from that...." he narrowed his eyes slightly. "You are to blame as well, Tuckson. You would truly say it was not out of selfish intentions?":

"I'm keeping her alive!"  
"You're keeping her /trapped/!"

He closed his eyes, taking in a breath. "You underestimate her, Tuckson. She is strong, in many ways. We could teach her to fight here...NOT to seek out fights. But to defend herself and the people she loves...just like Lyanna did." He opened his eyes, looking directly at Tuckson. "Don't you think she would want that?

Tuckson looked at the two of them: even Mari was staring at him now with a look of pity....he hated it. He hated knowing that if he took Blake away from this she would remain in that stupid bookstore, sitting in the back room alone at night, not saying a word.  
"You....as soon as the first sign that she comes in any harm's way, you WILL tell me. She'll be sent home."  
"If that is what she wishes."

He glared at them but, eventually his shoulders sank. "Heh....I should've known Blake couldn't stay little forever....I am a fool..."  
"Not a fool Tuckson," Mari walked over to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder "but a good parent". 

Atticus nodded, smiling slightly in approval. "Very well then. Mari, I have business to attend to....could you round up the others and tell them what's going on?"  
She nodded, looking back to Tuckson. "Ill give you a few minutes..."

He nodded mutely. She smiled sadly and walked out with Atticus, shutting the door softly behind her.

He let out a shuddering sigh and sank back down in his chair, resting his head in his hands. 

What would he do if he lost someone else?


	7. New Teammates

Blake walked away from Tuckson, feeling a bit uneasy. She couldn't help but wonder the relationship between him and Atticus...it didn't seem "friendly" in the least. 

"Well now that you're officially one of us, let me show you around!" her attention snapped back to Olive, who was now looking at her curiously.  
"Yeah, sounds great!"  
Olive frowned slightly, tilting her head."Don't worry about Atticus, Blake. He's a nice person, even if he comes off a bit intimidating."  
"..."

"First I'll show you where I work!" She opened a door and it creaked loudly as it opened. Blake peered down at the winding staircase, which seemed to be lined with...tiny lights? There was a security camera hinged to the wall and it moved slightly as she took a step. "Go right ahead!"

Blake walked down the iron steps, her boots making a reverberating clinking noise that echoed downstairs. Olive hummed cheerfully behind her until they reached the bottom. As he entered the room, Blake's eyes widened in surprise.

The basement was expansive and brightly lit. It could hardly be called a basement however: "research facility" seemed more fitting. Electronics hummed around her steadily. Monitors surrounded the walls, bringing up coding that she couldn't make any sense of, and a lab table in the back had Dust piled up around it. Near the piles of dust, a fox was napping on the floor. She heard an exasperated sigh and drew her attention to the young man in front of her, who stretched before swiveling his desk chair and turning towards them. "Olive, could you at least warn me before barging in here with a guest?"

"She's not a guest Al, don't be rude! She's one of us now!"   
"Hmm?" He stood up, walking over to them before stopping in front of Blake, seemingly sizing her up. She shifted uncomfortably until he smiled, nodding.  
"Nice to meet you, Blake. I'm Albert...but you can just call me Al, like everyone else does." He held out a hand and she shook it.

"Nice to meet you..." she still felt distracted by the blinking lights surrounding them. "What exactly...do you guys do here?"  
He pushed up his glasses. "Lots of things I guess...gathering intel on the Schnees, keeping track on protester movements...experimentation.."  
"We're the scientists of the group!" Olive beamed.  
He pushed back his electric green hair from his forehead, smiling wearily. "It could hardly be called that....researchers more like..."  
Her eyes were drawn to the lab table again as he nodded his head over to it. "This has been keeping me busy for the most part"

"The fox?"  
"No, that's Vester". The fox sneezed and rolled over.  
"Oh..."  
"The dust however..." he walked them over to the table, snapping a glove on his hand and carefully scooping up a handful of red dust. "Fascinating, isn't it? Raw energy, bridled into a solid form." He smiled bitterly: "What a shame it's in the hands of the wrong people".

"You mentioned the Schnees...what do you know about them?"

Olive's smile dropped and she looked towards Al worriedly. He frowned, putting down the dust and crossing his arms across his chest.  
"They're monsters. I can't begin to explain the things they've done to us...the things they're still doing.." his fingers dug into his lab coat and he looked back up at her. "The best thing you can do is keep far, far away from them Blake. They'd have no problem "putting us down" to set an example". He stared at the wall behind her, a distant expression on his face.

"He's right Blake, unfortunately" Olive added, smiling sadly. "It would be stupid to go after them".

Blake nodded, her shoulders sagging a bit. Every part of her wanted to stop them but Olive was right: she had barely survived a few normal humans the other night. It would be stupid going after them, at least, going alone. 

"Great! Well uhm...I interrupted your work, didn't I Al? Ehehe.."  
He waved dismissively. "It's fine, at least I got to meet Miss Blake." He nodded to her. "You should go talk to the others, they've been waiting." With that he sat back down in his desk chair and turned back to his computer, resuming his typing.

***

"What do /you/ do here Olive?" Blake asked as they shut the basement door behind them. "Do you work on experiments as well?"  
"Ah no, that's more up Al's alley". She walked ahead of Blake. "You saw all those computers down there, right? You see....I gather all that information for Al." Blake blinked at her. "I'm a hacker."  
"Oh.."   
"I also gather intel from the enemies by getting close to them." She suddenly stopped turning to her with a mischevious look on her face. "Wanna see how?"  
"S...sure?"  
Olive winked at her, and was suddenly gone. Blake let out a shriek of surprise, spinning around. "Olive...?"  
There was a giggle, and suddenly Olive reappeared behind her, tapping her shoulder and making her jump. "Boo."  
She rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to smile. "Not funny."

"That's my semblance! Though, it only works for about 30 seconds at a time, so I need to really be careful about it..."  
"What's Al's semblance?"   
"Hmmm...I'm not sure he's ready for me to tell anyone. I'm sure you'll figure out soon enough though, he seems to like you."

 

She reached another room at the end of the hall, towards which loud banging and smashing sounds could be heard from. A tinkling noise erupted: shattered glass? Blake turned to the other girl to question her but she was already swinging the doors open "HEY THERE!"

A boy and girl had been fighting but stopped suddenly, the girl holding the boy's leg over her shoulder, making him hobble as they stopped. He dropped his foot and he crashed to the ground, letting out a sound of dismay.   
"Hey to you to, Olive." The girl strode up confidently to the two of them, stopping with her hands on her hips. A lion tail swung out languorously behind her...another faunus. She briefly wondered if anyone here was human, but her thoughts were interrupted by the girl's face suddenly inches from her's. 

"Oh, you brought your friend back...heya cutie! I'm Carmine" she winked and Blake felt her face flush in shock.  
"Carmine! Don't tease her already, geez..."   
"It's only teasing, no harm." Carmine ruffled Blake's ears absentmindedly, stepping back. "Oh, there's the slacker." The other boy had walked up to them, rubbing his back and frowning. "This is Gray: he probably wouldn't introduce himself if we didn't do it for him."

"Shut up already" he growled, but his gaze flickered over to Blake and he nodded in acknowledgement. Blake nodded back, her gaze stuck on the quills coming out of his arms and back. He noticed her gaze and smirked. "Like what you see?"

"Sorry.."  
He shrugged, unaffected. "They aren't much for looks but they get the job done". He swung up his arm and a stream of quills shot out, hitting the light bulb across the room and shattering it.  
"UGGHHHH, stop showing off already you two!" Olive stamped her foot impatiently at them. "This isn't a contest....speaking of,where's Adam?"

"Ouch, damn Olive" Carmine laughed. "He just went to clean up a bit after fighting...ah, there he is".  
Adam froze when they noticed him, looking surprised until his face shifted into a distant expression. He walked toward them, seemingly trying to make his way around, when Carmine stepped in front of him. "Not gonna say hello to the new cutie, Adam? How unkind."

"I've already met her" his tone was annoyed. He shifted his gaze to Blake. She felt...something, rising up in her...anger?   
"So you came back then."  
"I did." she answered in a clipped tone.   
He clicked his tongue, annoyed. "You won't last a week".  
"Excuse me?!"

"Whoahhhh, did I miss something? Can't we all just get along?" Carmine interjected, an uneasy smile crossing her face.   
"Tch." he turned to walk away and Blake felt her fists clench at her sides.

A phone went off and Olive looked down at her cell. "Ah, they're calling the group meeting now...guess we better get...going..." Adam had already left the room.   
"Just ignore him Blake, Adam is an idiot!" Carmine swung an arm around her shoulders.  
"Yeah, alright..."

Carmine grinned, letting go and walking down the hall, the others following. Blake stood with Olive for a moment, and the other girl turned towards her. "So, you've met pretty much everyone then...what do you think?"

"They seem nice...mostly." They started following the group and Olive glanced up at her, folding her hands behind her back.   
"Blake...really don't let him bother you like that. he's not a bad guy, he just needs to warm to people".

"I dont /want/ him to warm up to me."  
"Hmm...."

She opened the door to another room, seemingly a dining room. The others were already seated around a long table. At the head of the table, Atticus sat with Mira. Tuckson was nowhere to be found. The man smiled at her warmly, gesturing around him.

"Ah, so the last of us are here. Shall we begin?"


	8. Briefing

She took a seat at the long table, the scraping to the chair legs unnaturally loud as everyone watched her join them. Atticus smiled warmly at her:  
"I'm sure everyone here has already talked with you....welcome to the White Fang, Blake".

The was a scattered clapping around the room, and she stared down at the table smiling, her face flushing pink. She looked up to see Mira beaming at her.

"Now that that's settled...Olive, could you pull up the information I requested?"  
Olive shot up from her chair and made her way to the other side of the room. She pressed a button on some strange electronic armband Blake hadn't noticed previously, and a series of images projected from it onto the wall.

"No sense in wasting time, then". Atticus peered over to Blake. "You know who these people are then?"

She looked up onto the screen at the first face. "That's....Kalte Schnee, owner of the Dust Corporation...and.." her lip curled back in disgust "Leader of the slave trade of thousands of faunus".  
The room went silent, and Atticus nodded sadly. "Olive, the next image?"

She tapped her armband again and a women slightly older than her showed up on screen. "How about her?"

Leaning foward, Blake squinted. She didn't look familiar to her...however...dressed that extravagantly....with snow white hair and a cruel expression..  
"Another Schnee?"  
Atticus nodded, folding his hands. "Winter Schnee. Eldest daughter of the Schnee household, and heiress to the company. Unfortunately...she has been making herself more know as of late, especially at our protests". His brow furrowed. "And she is particularly violent. That said....it would be wise to stay out of her sights".

Blake watched as a look passed between Carmine and Gray. Adam sat near them but seems ridicuously interested in a smudge on the table.

"Thirdly," Olive changed the screen "Do you recognize this girl?"

A face came up on the screen. She looked similar to Winter in the fact that she was dressed extravagantly and bore the same snowy features.  
However, she also seems different. Her expression, instead of looking sadistic like Winter's had, almost seemed sad. Her hair was loose and tumbling down her shoulder's, unlike the other's sharp bob. Blake shook her head.

"This is Weiss Schnee: youngest of the family and the sister of Winter. We haven't seen much of her yet, though it seems whenever Kalte is present she is by his side. We don't know anything about her yet, for all we know she could be just like her sister. Be vigilant." 

She nodded as Olive shut off the screen, thoughtful. "What happened to her mother?"

"Dead." Al interjected from her side. "She was killed by a faunus mob a few years back...an unfortunate event. And probably one of the reasons they hate us so impressively".  
"I see."

Mira cleared her throat. "In a week's time from now, another protest is scheduled in front of the Schnee mansion gates. We'll be going there, and by we I am including you...this will be a good chance for you to see the Schnees in person. In the meantime, Adam will be training you until then" She smiled sweetly.

"Eh?!" Adam sat forward suddenly, bracing his hands on the table. "I don't think that's a very good idea, I mean...she's very new, and doesn't have any experience...shouldn't we stick her with Olive or something?"  
"Me?" Olive frowned. "She needs to learn how to defend herself, not hack computers...unless you want to, Blake?"  
"I hate math".  
"Adam, is there a problem?" Mari frowned.  
Blake suddenly interrupted "I'm sure there isn't: I think we'll work well together". She shot a honeyed smile at Adam, who surprisingly...flushed. 

His anger was still apparent however. Jaw tight, he stood up from the table. "I'm going to get the training room ready. Be there in fifteen minutes".  
He walked out, slamming the door.

"Wow, what a baby. Don't worry, he just can't handle a babe like you" Carmine nudged her in the side and Gray snorted.  
She smiled, but it was halfhearted. Standing up, she inclined her head to Mira and Atticus: "Thank you...for everything. I won't let you down"  
"Somehow, I feel like I already knew this" Atticus smiled mysteriously. "You'd best be on your way, Ms. Belladonna, before his temper sours more".


	9. Semblance

She walked as quickly as possible to the training room: she refused to give him the satisfaction of running down the hall like an idiot.  
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the doors. He lifted his head and stood up from the bench he'd been lounging on.   
"Took you long enough"  
She shrugged mirthlessly. She hadn't wanted to be on bad terms with him, but she wasn't planning on putting up with his bullshit either.

He tossed her a wooden training sword. "Ready?"

She barely had time to catch it before he was after her, slashing in a downward motion. She dodged to the side, glancing left and seeing the sword centimeters away from her face. She jumped sideways, drawing up her weapon defensively. 

"Never give the enemy time to move first."  
"I didn't even have a weapon yet!!!"  
He shrugged, coming at her again. She brought up her weapon and they clacked together with a loud snap, causing her fingers to sting. 

"Do you think the enemy would be fair?"   
She growled, pushing off of his weapon and spiraling around back towards him. He countered it easily, narrowing his eyes at her.   
"Why did you even bother coming back here, if you can't fight?"

"I'm not /here/ to fight!" She kicked out at him and he leapt backwards. "This group isn't about fighting".  
"Wrong" He shocked her suddenly by grabbing her arm and twisting her around and into the ground. She gasped in pain, the pain of hitting the floor reverberating through her body. 

She turned to look up at him and saw his weapon pointed at her throat.   
"Do you know what happens to people who can't fight? They end up like you, knocked out in an alleyway and mugged, or dead"

She struggled to her feet, drawing up her sword painfully, and he let her.   
"You don't think I don't know that? Why do you think I stepped in for Olive?!"   
"Olive is an idiot too: I don't know how /she's/ still alive.."

She grit her teeth, swinging at him angrily. All thoughts of fighting him in a cool and refrained manner were gone. He shook his head.  
"Pay attention to your surroundings"  
He suddenly swung his sword low, aiming for her legs. And that's when it happened:

She was high: higher than she should have been able to jump. She looked down and gaped: she was standing...on her own head? As Adam's sword connected with her clone, it vanished...and she landed deftly behind him.   
"What...the hell..?" He turned, staring at her in surprise. "Was that your semblance?"

"My what?"

He shook his head, though she could have sworn for a split second he had smiled. "Come at me again, same as before"  
She blinked, before nodding, setting her stance and circling around him before running in again.

As the fight went on, she was able to block more hits, though she never actually managed landed to land a hit on him.   
She raised her weapon, aiming at where to go next, and suddenly realized her legs were shaking with effort. He was in front of her within a second.  
"What, you're just gonna stop?"  
The thought of a fireplace and tea filled her mind, and she suddenly felt defeated. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Hate you?" He lowered his sword to his side. A look of disbelief crossed his face, mixed with annoyance. "Why would I be training you if I hated you?"  
"I thought you didn't want to?"  
He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before grabbing her weapon from her. "Go hang outside, training was over an hour ago".  
"B-but.."  
"I'll call Olive out for you to show you to your room"  
"So...you aren't training me anymore?" She felt a crushing sense of disappointment, especially after feeling like she had improved throughout the day.  
He snorted, turning away from her. "Nice try."  
Her shoulders sagged in relief. "Alright....see ya".

She walked out the door into the hall, sinking onto the floor in a sitting position and waiting for her friend.

***

As it turned out, the members of the White Fang bunked in rooms together. She looked at the handwritten chart on the wall, which had been scribbled out and written on repeatedly:

1\. Mira and Atticus  
2\. Adam and Vester  
3\. Gray and Albert  
4\. Carmine and Olive (AND ALSO BLAKE)

She pushed open the door to Room Four.   
Inside was a bunk bed on the left. The top was a mess of sheets, and the bottom was neatly made, though it had to have at least seven blankets on it.   
On the right, a simply made twin sized bed. "Hey there Blake!" Carmen leapt off the top bunk, smiling. "How'd training go?"  
"I'm ready to fall over.."  
She grinned. "Sounds about right. Shower's over there by the way, it's conjoined. You can just use my stuff for now...and there's pjs on the bed."  
"Thanks Carmine...." Olive snored loudly in response, and Blake made her way to the bathroom.   
"Don't fall asleep in the shower alright?!"

She barely remembered the shower, besides the fact that the hot water felt heavenly on her slightly bruised skin.  
The mattress sank perfectly as she tucked herself underneath the blankets, sighing.  
She expected it to feel lonely here, without the crackling fireplace and bookshelves. And thought she did miss her books, as well as Tuckson, the idea of being bunkmates with two people her age....she smiled, pulling the blankets over her face.

But then there was him. She frowned slightly, rolling onto her side. How was she supposed to train with someone who didn't think she belonged?  
He didn't hate her at least...that must have been a start.  
Before her thoughts could become more complex, she felt her eyelids grow heavy with exhaustion from the first day, and fell into sleep.


End file.
